Rallying: McRae flies as Makinen fights off flu

Colin McRae's hopes of a second World Championship are delicately balanced as the pack head for the forests after Tommi Makinen's late rally. Derick Allsop reports.

So far, almost so good. Colin McRae did all that was required of him on the first day of the Network Q RAC Rally to sustain his challenge for the World Championship, but then Tommi Makinen achieved his target also to leave their duel tantalisingly poised.

For McRae to become champion a second time he must win here and Makinen has to finish outside the top six. That combination appeared likely through most of yesterday's spectator stages in the Midlands, with Makinen, shackled by the need for prudence and debilitated by flu symptoms, slithering down to ninth place.

During the later stages, however, the Mitsubishi driver rallied in every sense and climbed up to the final point scoring position that would ensure he retained the championship.

McRae and his Subaru emerged from the fog, mud and eventual darkness at the famous race course here just nine seconds ahead of Finland's Juha Kankkunen, driving a Ford. Didier Auriol, in a Toyota, was third, Makinen's English team-mate, Richard Burns fourth and Carlos Sainz, in a Ford, fifth.

Despite his lead McRae had mixed feelings about a day that brought its frustrations and mishaps. He had a spin, damaged a door at a chicane and forfeited time because of a loose wheel.

The 29-year-old Scot said: "I haven't really enjoyed the first day. The stages have been very fast and very slippery, and a lot of them were very narrow also, and I'm thinking of everyone's safety. Silverstone and Donington let you have more of a go at it, but I'd prefer it if this rally spent three days in the forest. Tommi is still right in there and you can never right him off."

The next two days will take them into the forests in what is effectively the contest proper, condensed into a Welsh rally. This is where the championship will be won and lost, and Makinen is thankful to be back on course. The 33-year-old Finn, who made up 11 seconds on McRae around the final stage here, said: "I have had problems and I was trying to keep a safe speed. It was difficult being the first car on the stage because it was so slippery. I knew I had to push later in the day because I could not afford to lose more time and I must continue to push over the next two days."

The early pattern was established on the very first stage here, McRae defying the unknown, shrouded in fog, to register the fastest time, while Makinen cautiously picked his way.

There was, however, a setback for McRae barely half a mile into the rally. The car driven by his team-mate, Kenneth Eriksson, spun to a halt with a problem described variously as electrical and engine. Whatever the precise fault, it meant retirement for the Swede and a potential barrier between McRae and Makinen pulled down.

Kankkunen was expected to be one of the more serious and enduring threats to McRae and from the third to seven stages the Finn was the leader. McRae edged ahead again at Woburn and maintained his advantage at Silverstone's "super special" stage, where he and Kankkunen shared first place.

The side-by-side real life version of Scalextric is a popular feature of modern rallying, providing, as it does, a rare see- it-all-show for bobble hat spectators and armchair viewers alike. McRae gave his suitably spectacular performance to beat Makinen, if only by a second. But at the end of the day Makinen trailed by only 21 seconds, little more than nothing as they confront the forests.